Oscar reviewed the mission board, he was surprised that Ruby chose to help Tyrian with his day. He'd have thought she would have avoided them, it was instinctive to grasp their weapons around Callows and Torchwick. Yet they were the only ones in the town who went out of their way to help them, so it would be best to not treat them like criminals...

Speaking of which, Oscar could hear the smooth lyrical tone, "So Oscar Rose, need a hand?"

"Last name's Pine." After he said it realized maybe he shouldn't have. "Uh half siblings."

"Same with me and Neo, but we both took our mothers name… Not related to the Roses then?"

Oscar shook his head, "I'm not…" He gestured to his hazel eyes, "As you can see." He tilted his head, "What's with the dowel rod?"

Defensively, "It's too thick to be a dowel rod and it's a staff."

Suppressing a laugh, "You get it from the hardware store?"

Roman flushed, "You want help or not?"

"I thought you can't fight."

"I can… a little. You wouldn't have to pay me, just teach me?" The ginger gave a hopeful smile.

Oscar sighed and held out his hand, with the dowel rod in his palm he flicked out a knife he hid up his green sleeve. In a deft motion he cut it, handing Roman a 'cane'. "You'd hurt yourself with a bigger weapon." He stared at the other end unsure what to do with it, until a pink blur snatched it and bounced on her toes.

Roman grumbled, "You're going to just get hurt Neo."

Oscar, "No she won't, We'll be doing hunts I can do by myself. Are both of your Aura's unlocked?" after a nod from the Torchwicks. "What are you semblances?"

Suddenly Neo had black hair and freckles; her eyes were hazel. She looked like she was related to him. Oscar looked to Roman and saw that Neo bursted into a silent fit of giggles and her illusion shattered into tiny dissipating fragments.

Oscar offered, "It takes time to find our semblance. There is no embarrassment there. Mines a shield, which is incredibly underwhelming given that is basically what Auras do."

Roman crossed his arm, "I know what it is, but it's useless."

"I doubt that, tell me." Oscar gave him a warm smile.

Roman's head filled with cotton and he couldn't stop the truth from spilling forward, "I attract living creatures. Animals, usually small ones." On cue a sparrow landed his shoulder pressing itself affectionately against Roman's neck.

Perhaps it was his time with The old wizard and his fondness of fairytales, but damn Oscar found himself swooning.

XXX

Tyrian appreciated the help since Roman ran off to be around the adorable hunter in training. He worried that Neo went as well, but he couldn't stop them. It wasn't like he was their parent, hell at 20 he had no business raising anyone. Ruby didn't have any formal medical training, but she was quick study. Given the deftness of her hands she obviously had managed in a number of emergencies.

Ruby for her part appreciated the education, she was mashing the herbs Tyrian had directed her to as he cleaned out a Faunus girl's shin. "Rose, mash up some sassafras."

She did as she was told, but she gave him a concerned look, "I've only heard of sassafras to clean out toxins that cause muscle spasms."

He furrowed his brows, the woman knew a lot about herbs for poisons. With an uncontrollable airy laugh, "It can be. She cut herself on an old fence, and likely doesn't have a tetanus shot. It'll-"

"Prevent lockjaw."

He nodded, "The correct term is trismus. Thank you." He took the paste and carefully applied it to the girl's shin, her chin wobbled and tears filled her eyes until Ruby petted the girl's hair and started to hum to her. It was a sweet tune, one Tyrian heard a much older man sing. When Tyrian finished, "Be sure to wash that off tonight little one."

The girl grinned showing off a missing tooth, "Thanks Tyri!" She was quick to run off to join her friends.

"I'm glad you could distract her with a song."

"I wish the only one I could think of wasn't a dirty one." She dug her toe in the ground.

He choked out the laugh, "Heard that tune before, didn't know it was dirty."

Ruby, "My mom used to hum it for me. I heard her sing the lyrics to my uncle once...well she was embarrassed when I sang it loudly in a grocery store."

He laughed harder with warmth, and Ruby thought it was a rather pleasant sound.

She waved her hand to his bag full of medical tools and herbs, "did the military teach you all this medical training?"

His warm laugh chilled into a nervous sound, "some yes, some I learned from Remus, uh Roman's dad."

That name sounded familiar…perhaps she read about Remus in Roman's obituary.

Tyrian, unaware of her thinking, "mostly I learn from Vita."

"Vita Torchwick… as in the actress?" Ruby felt extremely embarrassed Vita was the lead actress in all of Ruby's favorite movies when she was a little girl. And how did she not see it in Neo's two tone eyes and hair or Roman's smirks and the sass…good brothers that sass.

Tyrian tilted his head, "she was a cop in the country, a decent one, before she fell into acting. When Remus started to bring me around she taught me all she could about herbal remedies."

"She was a cop?"

"Mostly fought Grimm or handled domestic squabbles."

He ran his fingers through his shaggy yet short brown hair, "Rose, I wanted to ask. Do you know how to use your silver eyes?" She appraised him, warily, the man kidnapped her because his queen wanted her for her eyes. He didn't seem nervous or vicious. He was angry like he didn't want to ask. He caught on to her guardedness and he erupted into a fit of laughter. "I mean no offense Miss Rose. I don't know much other than what I've witnessed from Remus."

"You want me to teach Roman." She rubbed her arms, did she want to make Torchwick stronger? She closed her eyes, "I'd like to offer what I can myself." She couldn't believe herself, Roman was a boy right now, younger than her even. Maybe offering some help would do them both good. Her eyes widened when her stomach grumbled.

He gave a bright smile, "We can go back to the tavern and I can feed you." His head tilted similar to the time he mentioned his interest in Jaune, yet this time her fingers didn't itch towards her weapon.

She pointed across the street, "There is a cafe right there. I could use a cup of coffee as well."

His face fell and he burst into nervous giggles, "I- I can't eat there Rose."

She remembered that laugh when she declined to be his captive, she forced herself to stay calm, she would not be afraid of man who had yet to hurt her. "Oscar left me a bit of money from his hunt yesterday, I can pay."

He struggled to suppress the giggles and covered his mouth and she followed his line of sight. Her mouth fell.

No animals allowed

Especially no insects

Her hands balled, knuckles turned white she could only hear the blood pumping in her ears. Tyrian was the closest thing this small neighborhood in Mantle had to a doctor. A business had the nerve to deny him service.

She snatched his hand and pulled it away from his mouth and she growled, "If you find their stupidity hilarious then laugh. Who cares if you are amused."

His giggles turned manic and tears rolled down his cheeks and Ruby could not help but laugh beside him.

XXX

Oscar could only stare at Neo, she emulated him perfectly without needing correction. He could see Tyrian's flow in her steps and the girl blended it with the style she was learning from Oscar.

Roman gestured at his sister, "This is deeply unfair."

Oscar agreed, "I think she has already learned everything I can teach her...in an hour."

Roman kicked a small stone and muttered angrily, "Prodigy."

Oscar nodded numbly.

Roman felt uneasy in the area his sister danced around so gracefully in. The land was dead, it looked burnt. Tyrian mentioned Grimm nests kill greenery. The area was covered in monsters. None of these spider-like creatures were bigger than his sister and they slowly made their way through. Oscar would stay near and occasionally tap his cane against Roman's knees or hips, a silent reminder of good form.

The ginger wanted to melt into the ground, it was embarrassing that he needed constant reminders. What's more, Oscar didn't seem annoyed and would give gentle smiles and those freckled dimples made Roman feel like his brain went numb.

They heard a snap and Oscar sprinted forward. A green light erupted from the shorter boy, the forcefield shoved Neo away from her broken weapon and a Grimm about to bear down on her. Green light crackled down his cane as he slid under the Spider shoving his weapon deep into its innards, turning it to ash. He threw his knife and it embedded itself into the ground next to her feet.

Oscar thought Great. I just gave the Neopolitan my best knife.

And he was glad he did, the girl was pure cheeky violence. Perhaps Grimm didn't know they were being taunted, but it was funny to watch. Roman while needing the occasional save but he did make this hunt go a bit smoother as well. When the field was empty except for ash; Oscar was mildly tired, Neo seemed energized, and Roman looked like he'd been through the wringer.

Oscar could tell the other boy was mentally beating himself up and Oscar elbowed him as they made their way back. "You do realize Neo isn't normal?"

"You're not that tired either."

"I travelled all over Mistral learning how to fight as we went. I was exhausted at first. My first real fight was with a guy no joke 5 times bigger than me. I slept for days, Ruby woke me up only to make sure I ate. "

"That makes me feel better."

"This was a good mission. No one was injured and we only had a broken dowel rod."

"It was a cane."

Oscar sassed, "Are you tell me we are a group of cane wielders?"

Roman flushed and eyed Oscar's weapon, "You are gentlemanly."

Oscar cleared his throat and took a few long strides hurrying their way to the neighborhood's version of a bounty office.

XXX

Oscar Pine threw himself face-first into his bed. He grumbled to Ruby who was fixing the bullet hole in her corset. "I want to get into the pants of a dead man."

She made a choking sound before falling into a fit of giggles, "The first step is to admit you have a problem." she thoughtfully tapped her chin, "Does this make you necrophiliac?"

He groaned loudly into his pillow, "He's moving and breathing he thinks I'm a gentleman."

Ruby snickered, "the farm boy is teaching Roman Torchwick how to fight with refinement."

Oscar rolling onto his back biting his lip "Are we changing the future?"

Ruby was quiet for a long while, "What if we already changed it?"

"What?"

"We both know Torchwick's weapon of choice was a cane, what if it was always you who taught him. I also just encouraged Tyrian to giggle manically to his heart's content."

"You did? How? Why?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "In the face of racism."

He rubbed his temples, "You're saying you and I had to deal with them as the villains because we influenced them when they were younger?"

"I don't know. I also don't care." she rubbed her chest, she wanted to be Tyrian's friend. He seemed to take care of a lot of people, including the Torchwicks, who was taking care of him?

"Ruby…"

"Roman has a silver eye...that has to mean something! Tyrian is a weird dude, but he is a good man. People hate him and he still treats them." She looked at the boy desperate to make him understand. These people weren't always the enemy, something forced their hand.

Oscar sighed, "Okay Ruby. We are here for three months and potentially breaking time as we know it."

Ruby cracked into a grin that was very Yang-esq"If you lose your virginity during this, I'll make fun of you forever."

"Brothers, I hope we break the universe."